Age of Consent in United Kingdom

What is the United Kingdom Age of Consent?

The Age of Consent in United Kingdom is 16 years old. The age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 15 or younger in United Kingdom are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape or the equivalent local law.

United Kingdom statutory rape law is violated the United Kingdom's member countries and territories each have local laws regarding the age of consent. In all of these areas, the age of consent is currently 16.

United Kingdom has fifteen territories that have their own local age of consent laws. These territories are listed in the following table:

United Kingdom does not have a close-in-age exemption. Close in age exemptions, commonly known as "Romeo and Juliet laws" in the United States, are put in place to prevent the prosecution of individuals who engage in consensual sexual activity when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both partners are below the age of consent.

Because there is no close-in-age exemption in United Kingdom, it is possible for two individuals both under the age of 16 who willingly engage in intercourse to both be prosecuted for statutory rape, although this is rare. Similarly, no protections are reserved for sexual relations in which one participant is a 15 year old and the second is a 16 or 17 year old.

AgeOfConsent.net is a free public resource site, and cannot offer legal advice. All information provided AS-IS with no warranty of accuracy.
If you are a victim of sexual assault or statutory rape, call the 24-hour RAINN help hotline at 800-656-HOPE